The invention relates generally to communication networks and methods, and more particularly to methods and systems for reconciling trunk group information among various telecommunication network management systems.
Telecommunications service providers use many different types of network facilities and circuits to provide a variety of telecommunication services. Such services can include, for example, providing “800 service” for a given end user location within the Plain Old Telephone Service (“POTS”) network and providing access to an internet protocol (“IP”) network. When an end user requires such service, a connection from the end user's equipment to a network must be established. This often involves designing an appropriate circuit to establish a path from the customer site to an edge switch within a network, assigning available network facilities, such as switch ports and transmission lines, for use in building the circuit, and connecting or establishing the designed circuit.
Service providers generally employ various known management systems to facilitate establishing, allocating and/or modifying circuits to connect an end user's equipment to an edge switch within a network. For example, an ordering database can include the details about the end user's service request, such as the bandwidth desired, the features desired, and the point of origination. An inventory database can include a listing of ports and trunk groups within an edge switch that are available for connecting the end user's equipment to the network. A provisioning system can be used to establish a circuit to fulfill the service request by making the necessary software assignments to connect a group of facilities. Finally, a billing system can be used to facilitate the billing activity associated with the established circuit.
Some known network management systems use information characterizing the facilities included within a network, such as a switch location and an identity of the transmission lines included therein, to carry out their desired functions. Such information can include, for example, a common language facility code (CLFI™ code) that identifies a particular switch and/or a base traffic number (“BTFN”) that identifies a trunk group within a particular switch. Such information can be used, for example, to identify a trunk group that serves a particular end user to facilitate changes in service requested by the end user.
In some instances, such information is maintained in a central database, which is accessed by the various network management systems. In other instances, however, the network management systems do not share common data, but rather individually maintain records characterizing the network facilities. For example, some known switches maintain a database containing the information associated with the trunk groups included therein. This information is also separately maintained in various known management systems.
In arrangements where individual databases are maintained, discrepancies can exist between information maintained within a switch database and information maintained within the various network management systems. Such discrepancies can be caused by errors in the data input process, errors in transmitting data from a switch to a network management system, and the like. Known network management systems do not periodically review the status of information contained therein to ensure that such information is consistent with the information maintained in the switches. Thus, a need exists for methods and systems for reconciling information characterizing the trunk groups included within a network between a switch and various telecommunication network management systems.